Carte d'identité et identités à la carte en France: le cas de l'intégration de la population harkie

The main purpose of this thesis is to examine whether the 'Harkis' and their offspring have been or indeed can be fully integrated into French life. It is not unusual for the 'Harkis' to express a feeling of belonging to the French, the 'Harki', Beur and Algerian communities. The 'Harkis' are a diversified group. While some continue to stress the specificity and uniqueness of their position in France, others insist on their French citizenship. The absence of an overriding sense of common identity as a group should therefore be stressed. The thesis will therefore examine the process of the 'Harkis' forming their own identity, as well as the construction of such an identity by the French state through the taxonomy and measures adopted since 1962. The thesis ultimately posits that the concept of 'Frenchness' must be reconsidered and redefined. Can plural identities be promoted without resulting in the destruction of the nation and the nation-state? Would the new, wider context of Europe provide the framework within which pluralism could exist and a new bonding 'social contract' be created?